Christine Feehan 5 CARPATHIAN NOVELS

by Christine Feehan

  Above the many terraces and lofty stories loomed a high, rounded tower where it was rumored more than one woman had been murdered in the murky past, earning the palace the dubious name of Palazzo della Morte. Winged gargoyles stared blankly at him out of the heavy, white fog, looking almost real as the creatures seemed to swarm up the side of the villa. Sitting on the craggy cliffs above the raging sea, the sprawling castle was dark and foreboding with the blank eyes of the statuary always watching.

  The heavy forests that had once grown wild, a refuge to a multitude of animals, were long gone, replaced by groves and grapes. Byron preferred the freedom of the forests and mountains of his homeland, where he could run with the wolves if he desired, but the need to protect the occupant at the palazzo had become all consuming.

  Alarm spread, a premonition of danger he couldn’t shake. Byron increased his speed, streaking through the sky, flying low over the sprawling estate. The palazzo rose up out of the fog, architecture belonging to an era long gone, made of stone and stained glass, almost alive in the swirling mists. Byron ignored the ancient statues and the gleaming windows piercing the fog like so many eyes.

  He first heard the voice whisper in his mind. Byron. Byron. I need you now. Hurry. Hurry. Byron. Where are you? She had never used a telepathic connection to him before. He had never taken her blood, yet he heard the words clearly and knew her need must be great to reach out to him.

  Wicked forks of lightning whipped from cloud to cloud, anger he couldn’t contain. She was in danger! Someone dared to threaten her. The sky roared, thunder splitting open the heavens to reveal a fury of flame. He took a breath, fought to control the elemental fear for her. The ground was reacting, rolling and buckling in answer to his mounting anger.

  Byron hurried out toward the cove and the jagged rocks with his pulse pounding to the beat of the sea. The wind shifted and brought the haunting echo of a scream. His heart nearly stopped beating in his chest. It was the sound of despair, of death itself.

  He swooped even lower over the sea, uncaring that he might be seen and discovered for the predator he was. Waves leapt toward the heavens, foamed, and collapsed with an angry boom, greedy for a living sacrifice.

  “Byron!” This time she called his name aloud, her only chance while the clouds spun dark threads and the fog thickened in an attempt to cut off all escape. “Help us.” The wind whipped the cry out over the roiling waves, straight to him.

  There was a plea in her voice, soft and musical and alive with awareness. She knew he was close, as she always seemed to know. Antonietta Scarletti. Heiress to the Scarletti fortune. Composer of the most beautiful music the world had known in a long time and owner of the priceless Scarletti palazzo. The Palazzo della Morte, palace of death. Byron feared the curse of the palazzo would bring death to Antonietta, and he was determined to stop it.

  Her voice brought alive the colors of the night, sharp and vivid and focused, where for so long there had been nothing but bleak gray. His heart stuttered, stammered, as it always did at the unexpected gift. It was that way each time he heard her voice, when she spoke his name in velvet tones. When she lit his world with colors and vivid details he had long ago lost.

  Byron flew so low the churning waves splattered him with water as he raced over the choppy surface straight toward the sound of her voice. Through the swirling mists Byron saw Don Giovanni Scarletti in the greedy sea, clawing desperately for a purchase on the slick boulders. The waves slammed the old man hard, tossed him as if he were a small string of kelp, nothing more. The foaming water closed over the gray head and took him under.

  “Byron!” The call came again. Haunting. Unforgettable. He knew he would hear that voice echo forever in his dreams.

  She was up in the jagged rocks, near the edge of the crumbling cliffs, struggling with a large man. Below her, the water slammed against the rocks, reaching higher and higher as if to drag her down. It was only the increasing fury of the storm, the earthquake sending shocks through the cliff that prevented Antonietta’s attacker from flinging her into the sea. The man staggered, nearly fell, even as he wrestled with her. Lightning exploded around them, whips of energy rained hot, glowing sparks. Thunder crashed so loud the man yelled in fear.

  Fangs exploded in Byron’s mouth, black venom swirled in his gut. He was on them in an instant, uncaring of his enormous strength, catching Antonietta’s assailant by the nape of his neck and wrenching him backward, away from her. With the ferocity of his animal nature, with the rage of his human side, he shook Antonietta’s attacker, his hands crushing the throat. An ominous crack was loud, even with the sea roaring in accompaniment to his rage.

  Byron dropped the body carelessly, allowing the empty carcass to crumple to the ground. He turned quickly toward Antonietta. She was moving to get away from them, her arms stretched out full length to try to feel her way. There was nothing but empty space in front of her and the sea below, swelling and booming with relentless fury.

  “Stop! Don’t move, not a single step!” The command thundered through the night air, reached her atop the cliffs. Trusting she would obey that merciless compulsion, Byron plunged straight into the sea. Diving deep, down into the cold, dark abyss until his fingers found the material of the old man’s collar, and he grasped it hard in his fist, kicking strongly to bring them both to the surface.

  Byron shot from the sea, straight into the air, dragging the leaden body against his own as he headed for the top of the cliffs. The white mist thickened and swirled around him like a living cape, creating a shield from prying eyes. The old man choked and gasped for air, for life. He clung convulsively to Byron, not quite aware of his surroundings, not able to believe he was hurtling through space. Don Giovanni, grandfather to Antonietta, had his eyes tightly shut while his chest heaved and saltwater spewed from his mouth. The water poured from their clothing and hair, adding to the droplets of mist in the air as Byron alighted on the ground.

  The old man began to pray loudly in his own language, calling on the angels to save him, but he never once opened his eyes.

  Antonietta turned toward the sound, but her feet remained perilously close to the edge of the cliff, exactly where they had been when Byron roared his command. His heart in his throat, Byron carefully stretched the old man out on the ground, well away from the edge, and rushed to gather Antonietta into his arms. Into safety. Holding her tightly, knowing she was safe, he forced air through his lungs, forced down his rage and fear to allow the violent storm to calm.

  Despite the fact that his clothing was soaked, she burrowed close to him, her hands finding his face unerringly, mapping his features with loving fingertips. “I knew you’d come. Our guardian angel. My grandfather? Is Nonno going to be all right? I heard him fall into the sea. I couldn’t get to him. I couldn’t see to get to him.” She turned her head toward the coughs and grunts the older man was making, tears glistening in her huge, dark eyes.

  “He will be fine, Antonietta,” Byron assured her. “I will not allow him to be anything else.” And he meant it. He couldn’t bear the sight of tears in her eyes.

  “You saved him, didn’t you, Byron? That’s why you’re soaked. You always come to us when there’s trouble. Grazie, I cannot live without my grandfather.” She stood on her toes, her body soft and pliant, melting against his hard strength, oblivious to his soaked clothing, and she pressed her mouth to the corner of his.

  That small tribute shook him to the very core of his being. Fire streaked through his veins. Every cell in his body reacted, reached for her. Needed. Hungered. His arms tightened possessively for just a moment. He made a conscious effort to remember his own strength, to remember she had no idea who or what he was.

  Byron swung her up, cradling her body close. She was shivering in the biting wind. “Did he hurt you? Are you injured, Antonietta?” It was a demand, pure and simple.

  “No, just frightened. I was so frightened.”

  “What were you doing on the cliffs?” His voice was much harsher than
he intended. “And where is the rest of your family?”

  Her fingers moved over his face, an intimate exploration. She had read him many times, but this seemed different somehow, or maybe he was far too aware of her. “Someone put a cloth over my mouth and nose and dragged me outside. I was so afraid for Nonno. I could hear the sea.” The pads of her fingers sent tiny flames dancing over his skin as she mapped his face. As she traced his frown. “The sea sounded angry, much like you sound right now. I couldn’t get to Grandfather, and I heard him fall over the cliff.” She was silent a moment, dropping her head to his shoulder. “I was struggling with the man who dragged me out here. He was trying to throw me into the sea, too.” Her voice was shaking, but Antonietta struggled for composure.

  “Did he say anything to you?”

  She shook her head. “I didn’t recognize anything about him. I’m certain he’s never been to the palazzo before. No one said anything to us, they just tried to throw us into the water.”

  Byron set her carefully on the ground beside the old man. “I want to take a look at your grandfather. I think he swallowed half the sea. Do not move. It is dangerous up here. You are on the high cliffs, where the edges are crumbling, and the fall could kill you.” He couldn’t look at the innocence on her face, the childlike trust there. He knew she belonged to him, yet he had once again failed to keep safe those he was sworn to protect. “You do not realize it, Antonietta, but you are in shock. Do not move, just sit here and breathe for me.”

  He came from an ancient race, a species that could claim immortality. He had seen the passage of time, witnessed his race nearing extinction. Without women and children, it was impossible to live anything other than a bleak, soulless existence. Unless one was lucky enough to find his lifemate. Antonietta Scarletti was his lifemate. He knew it unerringly. She came from a long line of psychics, people gifted with talents beyond mere sight. Byron had listened often to the history of her family. He knew that many of Antonietta’s ancestors, both male and female, were strong telepaths and healers. Only a human who was psychic could be lifemate to one of the ancient Carpathian race. Antonietta Scarletti was a very strong psychic.

  Don Giovanni struggled to sit up, his chest heaving while he gasped for air. He caught at Bryon’s wide shoulders with gnarled hands. “How did you know to come? The sea claimed my life, but you brought me back.” His teeth were chattering with cold, his thin body shaking uncontrollably. “That is twice now that you have saved me.”

  Byron held him gently. “Do not talk so much, old friend. Let me see what I can do to take the chill from you.”

  Antonietta couldn’t see Byron, but as always, the sound of his voice intrigued her. It was beautiful and compelling, much like the symphony of music always playing in her head. She wanted to think of him as her grandfather’s friend, but it was a difficult task when she listened for the sound of his voice and hungered for the slightest physical contact between them.

  Antonietta learned years earlier that she was not the kind of woman men looked at for reasons other than her fortune. She had far too much Scarletti pride to be loved for her money. She didn’t believe in buying a man, although she knew many women in her position did so. She was no young girl to dream of white knights. She was fully grown, with a woman’s voluptuous figure and a face scarred by the blast of an explosion that had robbed her of her sight. There was no handsome lover on a white charger ready to whisk her away for endless nights of romance. She was a practical woman, a successful pianist and composer, who poured all of her dreams into her music where they belonged.

  Antonietta carefully ran her hands over her grandfather, to see him, to assure herself he would survive his escape from the sea. Her hands encountered Byron. She rested her fingers lightly on the back of his hand. He never showed annoyance when she touched him. He never acted repulsed or impatient with her. He simply continued with what he was doing, while her hands rested on his. She could hear the steady rhythm of his breathing, slow and uniform, so that her breath, moving in and out of her lungs with such frantic intensity, slowed to follow his lead.

  Byron’s hands generated tremendous heat. She could feel it flowing like a fine wine into her grandfather’s veins, slowly warming him. She didn’t dare speak, but she felt him. Heard his breath, his heart. She saw things without her eyes that others couldn’t see. She knew Byron was far more than a mortal man. Right now he was a miracle worker. She saw him so clearly, yet it was only through her fingertips resting so lightly on the backs of his hands.

  Byron closed his eyes and shut out all the sounds and scents of the night. It was difficult to get beyond the touch of the woman he was always so aware of, but his examination had detected something in the older man’s lungs. Don Giovanni was too old and fragile to fight off infection or pneumonia. Byron separated himself from his body, setting his spirit free to enter the aging man lying so cold and helpless on the rocks. Healing in the way of his kind, from the inside out, Byron made a thorough inspection, determined to give Antonietta’s grandfather as many years of life as possible.

  The wind rushed across the cliffs, pierced right through Antonietta’s clothing in spite of the fact that Byron had positioned his body between hers and the wind. She could feel the warmth radiating from Byron into her grandfather. But there was something much more, something even more rare. She understood it, and she believed in it. Byron Justicano had left his own body and entered that of her grandfather’s. She didn’t need eyes to see the miracle of a natural healer. She felt him. Felt the energy and the heat. She knew it required total concentration, so she did nothing to distract him. She sat in the biting cold and thanked the heavens Byron had come to her family to watch over them.

  “There is poison in his system.” Byron’s grim voice startled her. “Small amounts as if he is being fed them, but it is in his muscles and tissues.”

  “That can’t be,” Antonietta denied. “You have to be wrong. Who would want to harm Nonno? He is much loved by the family. And how could such a thing happen accidentally? You must be mistaken.”

  “When I was young and impetuous, I made mistakes, Antonietta. Now I am much more careful in the things I say and do. In the things I covet or seek to call my own. I am most careful in my friendships. Don Giovanni has been poisoned, much like his ancestor before him. Is that not the legend of the Scarletti family?”

  Antonietta shivered, lifted her hands away from Byron in hopes he wouldn’t notice her reaction. “Yes, centuries ago, another Don Giovanni, an ancestor of ours, and his young niece were poisoned. The healer was sent for, and Nicoletta arrived to aid them. He chose her as his bride. I don’t believe in curses, Byron. There is no curse over my home or my family.” She slipped her arm around her grandfather.

  “I tell you there is a poison in his system that will eventually kill him if more accumulates. There is also the remnant of a drug to make him sleep. When I examine you, I am certain I will find the same thing.”

  “Do you suspect my chef of trying to kill me?” Antonietta gripped her grandfather hard, hanging on to her poise by a mere thread. “That is ludicrous, Byron. He would have nothing to gain. Enrico’s been in our family since I was a child, and he’s completely devoted and loyal to every member of the Scarletti family.”

  “I did not mention your chef, Antonietta,” he replied patiently. “That may be your best guess, but it is not mine.” When she remained stubbornly silent, he sighed his exasperation. “I must remove the poison from your grandfather. Then I will attend to you.” His teeth gleamed very white in the darkness, but she didn’t see, she could only hear the promise of menace in his voice.

  It made her shiver, aware that she knew very little about him. “Byron.” She said his name to keep calm, to remind herself he had always been gentle with her. A guardian watching over them. Antonietta had always been safe with him. She wouldn’t allow the aftermath of the attack to weaken her nerves and make her fear the very man who had come to her rescue. “It is true that accidents have always
plagued the lives of the Scarletti family. There have been intrigues, political and otherwise. Our family has always had a great deal of power and money.”

  “Your own parents were killed when your yacht exploded. You were blinded, Antonietta. It was only luck that a fisherman was in the vicinity and got to you before the sea swallowed you.”

  “An accident.” It came out a whisper when she wanted to sound certain.

  “You want to believe it was an accident, but you know better.” There was a distinct bite to his voice. She had the impression he wanted to shake her.

  She would not talk about the explosion on the yacht that had blinded her and left her an orphan. There was guilt and fear and too many other emotions. She kept that door firmly closed in her mind. “Who is he?” She knew her assailant was dead. It should have frightened her that Byron had killed so swiftly, so efficiently, but truthfully, she was grateful.

  “I have no idea, but he could not possibly have done this alone. Someone had to have drugged you both, someone within the palazzo. And it would take two people to bring you both up here. It isn’t that far, but the path is steep, and with both of you drugged, it wouldn’t have been easy. It would have made better sense to heave you both into the sea. One of them must have been in a hurry to do something else.”

  “What of my family, Byron?” Antonietta’s fingers plucked at his sleeve. “They are perhaps helpless, drugged in their beds, awaiting their fate as we speak. Please go to them.”

  “It is more likely they are searching for something, not intending to murder your entire family.”